New Choreography of Alcina: Chapter Three, Dance with Elephants (after Richard Avedon)

Pola Dwurnik’s painting belongs to the series Alcina’s Island, in which the artist reinterprets the figure of the sorceress Alcina from Ludovico Ariosto’s 16th-century chivalric poem Orlando Furioso. In this, one of the longest works of European literature, the shape-shifting heroine transforms her lovers into animals. In the end, the enchantress is defeated, her kingdom disappears, and the bewitched men return to human form.

The figure of Alcina has fascinated and inspired Dwurnik for years. In New Choreography…, the artist presents the heroine not as defeated, but as the triumphant ruler of the island, an integral part of the animal world. Known for her numerous references to art and culture, in this painting, the artist alludes to Richard Avedon’s famous photograph Dovima with Elephants (Evening Dress by Dior, Cirque d’Hiver, Paris, August 1955).